“If we in government are not actively fighting inequality, we’re ultimately creating more inequality.”

I interviewed New York City’s director of innovation Jeff Merritt about how he’s working to ensure lower-income communities have access to the same tech as wealthy ones.

“I think the reason that is so important is that the rapid pace of technological change… There’s enormous pressure to move rapidly into the future, but we also have to remember that we have a very special responsibility as public servants to represent all of the public and to think about the consequences of our decisions.

“Things like smart cities can be very appealing, but what are the sacrifices we’re making? As we deploy more and more technologies, is individual privacy compromised in some way, or are we opening up more security risks? As the workforce changes, what is the impact of that on lives?”